The Real Persona Arena
by BarryBurt0n
Summary: This story is a re-imagining of the concept of Arena. Where in, the casts of P1 and P2: Eternal Punishment become involved with the P3 and P4 casts as they all are put in a situation where they are forced to fight one another whilst defeating several obstacles in their paths. They must overcome their circumstances to defeat the so-called "Dungeon Master" and end his twisted game.


_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or any content from the Megami Tensei series as a whole. I do not claim to own anything. All contents' right belong to their respectful owners. Once again, I do not claim to own anything._

I like to say before I start this author notes proper: Just because I started this project does not mean Persona 2: Your Innocent Sin or Persona 3: Burn Your Dread are cancelled. This motto also applies to this story and all future and past projects: The chapters are finished when they are finished. So when's the next chapter questions are answered with: when it's finished. A wise man once said that. I refuse to make further promises and I cannot restrict a nonprofit work with a deadline especially when the unpredictability of reality could send me spiraling to a freefall at any minute. So, chapters are finished when they are finished. I'd also liked to do at my own leisure what I would like to do, not what I am obligated to do. I have too much written obligation and livelihood responsibility in my real life as is. I just want to enjoy myself with this.

Well, this is an idea I had. It's probably really dumb. Dependent on how well this chapter goes, I might at some point try to mold an entire written story in here, but to be quite frank it is more of a writing exercise. I'm attempting to trying to write characters well…in character as best as I can, also to help me get back into a groove of dialogue exchange whilst maintaining voices. Technically not the best place to do this because the cast in this revised P1 Grand Prix is going to range from a total of at least twenty plus characters, and trying to have each individual have a definite voice in that severely humongous cast number is just not happening.

Basically, this is the REAL Persona Arena. You may have seen me go on and on before in author notes about how I think the Arena games are wasted opportunities and bullshit fan pandering/milking. Now with the release of Ultimax, of course they are also "fuck-you older Persona fan" cockteases with utter shit stories. You cannot defend Ultimax's story. Don't even try to defend Ultimax's story. It is shit. Arena's honestly wasn't much better, apart from Labrys' story and probably Labrys' story alone, which after the whole issue is resolved with her anyway her relevance boils down to the same way as Metis, Marie, and fucking Sho: she is insignificant and completely pointless.

Metis exists to spout exposition exclusively. She's also a poorly thought out Shadow-type plot device. I mean "poorly thought out" and "badly-designed plot devices" basically summarizes The Answer in total, but Metis is kind of just the epitome of the P Team's conduit of "story writing." Introducing a new character who is the crux of this additive plot, have them have some kind of distinguishable relationship to the Main Character, have them come full circle as a character to resolve the new conflict or have the Main Character over come their issues for them, have them do nothing or not even exist from that point onward.

Metis doesn't fit these points entirely, but Marie, Labrys, and Sho each do, and guess what Marie's role in Ultimax is non-existent, her role in Golden does more harm than good to the already shit plot, Sho is the most garbage character ever conceived by the current P writers who by the end of story might as well have vanished from existence as if he was ever there, and Labrys' resolve means fuck all in the scheme of things because she too did nothing worthwhile in Ultimax. It's almost like the writers realize they just write plot devices characters and decided not to give a single shit anymore. (Of course I could also argue they have done that since the start of P4. *Points at Naoto furiously*) Also regarding Metis, when an author like Samjaz who writes a fanfiction novelization (more of a retelling heavily modified), of your game with The Answer included, has to explain the big gaping plotholes in your "well-constructed" expansion, you fucked up. When another author has to cover you ass (covered well by the way given the universe of Fairly English Story) in explanations and expounding, you royally fucked up.

(Note: Zen and Rei fit this bill as well, but I haven't completed Q yet to see if they are exactly like all the others, but I guarantee their exists at the end of it all is not going to matter whatsoever.)

Now with that justified rant and criticism out of the way less discuss the prerogative of spoilers. Now I do not purport myself to be a genius or an innovator, but I am the only person on this website who finished a novelization of the first game. (Another reason actually for this story existence is because in my plans to write novelizations of the series, the Arenas were not included. The actually concept of the P1 Grand Prix may have appeared in the inevitable conglomerated final installment but that is way to far down the line to discuss now.) Yes, I finished the novelization. Since the Persona 1 characters are going to appear in this game, they are going to be my renditions of the characters as found in the story. Which means Yukino and all the other characters, Ayase, Brown, Eriko also have experienced the events of the SEBEC route alongside Naoya, Masao, Kei, and Maki. You also get a quick sneak peak at the designs of them as they appear in the Persona 2 duology, that I am currently novelizing Innocent Sin of. Point of reference in my novelization to fit with plans I had down the line with that aforementioned final installment I retconned the year of the novelization to 2004, I believe, yeah, in this story since this is trying to imitate the actually Atlus established universe and not my own, P1 took place in 1996, P2: IS took place in 1999, and of course P2: EP took place just a year afterwards in 2000. So the ages of the characters will be different than you expect. Also, since I have to keep in the Atlus canon, The Answer happened which means of course P3 was 2009-2010. P4 of course 2011-2012, and I guess (With great disdain) Marie will be included. She will be doing absolutely jack all in the story, but she shall be noted. The Female Route of P3P is ignored however, because The Answer is in play and that specifies Makoto/Minato as the protagonist of P3. If I'm feeling wacky and experiment with alternative dimensions, you may get Minako/Hamuko appearance. Maybe. Of course when that happens Josuke Higashikata will appear to lay the smack down with Crazy Diamond. It has to happen, however dubious and duplicitous on my behalf it may be. Yeah, multi worlds won't be a thing, because I would go buckwild with Jojo characters abound.

Also, the Alignment Dogma implemented from the Megaten universe in my novelizations may or may not be poignant in this story. I haven't decided. I could bring it up, because Strega and Adachi had red Persona auras. Red is indicative of Chaos Alignment in Megaten always. While the teams Persona auras are blue. Blue having the proclivity of Law Alignment. In the older games though, when antagonists summoned Personas, they used the same blue auras as the protagonists. So I'm struggling, but I doubt it will have any place in the narrative.

If the events of ANY of these games come up, I'm not pulling punches. Spoilers will be mentioned as to make the story as best fit as possible. So, SPOILER WARNING, guys if you intend to read if you haven't completed and or seen ALL of these 6 GAMES. That means if you want to read my P2: IS novelization, I guess I can say it is ill-advised to read this. That story (Innocent Sin's) out of all of them though probably will have the least amount of influence on this story if I do decide to continue to this.

As for the characters, spoilers are fair game as I have warned of their appearance. Mostly character related stuff from the actual game like Maki's importance to P1, potentially Joker's identity in P2, the events of P2. Let's say as well, Shinji is dead but Chidori is alive. The way I see it if one dies the other has to live, because that's just how life keeps the checks and balances. Though in FES you CAN'T save Shinjiro but you CAN save Chidori so the point is moot on the matter anyway. Other than that, I don't think there are any other specifications on the non-canon strictures besides Makoto/Minato and Yu/Souji both maxing all Social Links as well as the cast of both P1 and P2 having obtained their Ultimate Personas via resolving instead of fusing with Igor. OH YES! The names, I just realized as I was using them in examples. I guess we'll go canonical, because Arena recognizes Yu as the canon name, but for some reason Q recognizes Minato as P3 Protag's name, but I've gotta go with the official material of Atlus so P4's protagonist is Yu Narukami, P3's protagonist is Makoto Yuki, P2 protags are still Maya Amano and Tatsuya Suou, and since the Drama CD name of the P1 protagonist is too close to Yu Narukami (It's Yuya Narumi) and the Shadow Maze novelization's name is not an official Atlus release I have no choice but to go with his manga name (The one I prefer and like the most mind you) fuck, yeah, Naoya Todo!

Lastly, this is something that I'm gonna do at first chapters for original stories, list my inspirations that have a hand in allowing the work to come to fruition, because I'm a self-loathing, low self-esteem, incongruently pedantic bastard who thinks other people's works are forever better than anything he can produce so I'd like to share those names with people.

Inspirations: Starbomb's _Smash!_, Samjaz's _Arrangements Shall Be Made_, Specter24's _One Piece: A Smash Adventure, _H.P. Lovecraft's _At the_ _Mountains of Madness, _John Milton's _Paradise Lost_, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6: Stone Ocean's Bohemian Rhapsody Arc.

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><p>Round 0: Opening Sequence<p>

Naoya Todo was intensely focused. This was the crucial moment. Everything was up to this last move, the decisive action to write the truth in history as victory or defeat.

"_Black Onslaught!_"

"Yes!" Naoya cheered at his dead-accurate input allowed his character's ridiculous blade to bend and fold to an incredible scythe brimming with dark energy.

"Not bad for an old man!" He mused at the arcade cabinet's scintillating eminence, his character cutting a bombarding swathe through his unsuspected opponent who fell right into the initial stroke.

"_What's this game called again?_" Naoya thought, examining the label more thoroughly to read the elaborately long subtitle. "_FlamRed: Sequential Slip Increased...that's a name for you. I've been out of the scene for what—sixteen years—for all I know this is the norm for the new age in arcade fighting games._"

The wavy black-haired man easily rose from the sticking leather, his defeated opponent becoming one in the line of the bested wanting to beat the rusty thirty two year old.

"_Glad to see I still got the muscle memory, even on the latest stuff._" Naoya thought, adjusting his gray suit jacket in his stride. The cries of the defeated he had trodden upon protested at his leave.

"Hey, come on, pops! One more,"

"We gotta settle the score! You can't leave now!"

"What? Are you afraid you might lose this time?"

Naoya laughed, the buzzing sound of Judgment 1999 encapsulating him. The nostalgic aroma, chides, and ambience really did take him to the past, when he was a young laconic boy who spent his allowance and afterhours handing asses and having his own handed to in the arcade. That was a different time and Naoya was a different man. The youth in him would have happily rose to the challenge of a frustrated opponent, likewise the boy he was would have levered at challenge at his own conqueror, but the adult he was now would exit coolly, not intending to monopolize the machine or perpetuate the cycle of top dog knocking his opponents down to the bottom rung of the steep ladder.

"_Plus_ _I don't want to be late to the meet-up before the reunion at St. Hermelin._"

Naoya settled his bourbon-colored aviators on his nose, stuffed one hand in his gray khakis, and flicked his simple hoop earring with the other as he absconded in a wake of disapproval.

The bickering teenagers, the next generation for the city of Mikage, were left with the lingering sensation of a score left unresolved as they resumed the pecking order of king against peons. Of course, the screen was not exactly how it was left. The victory splayed and the character select were no more but faded black.

"What the hell, man? The screen's blank!"

"Did that asshole break the thing?"

"Yeah, that guy must've broken it! He hit the stick hard, bro!"

The unbelieving onlookers smacked the sides in frustration, the seemingly powered off cabinet producing a steady blackness in the mist of its audience, until the moment passed in seconds then the roused crowd was vindicated and simultaneously cowed at the absurd display they received in prize.

"**Rivals!" **The voice was booming and far reaching. It was an excitement induced announcer's voice, beckoning for others to heed his eagerness. The surrounding crowd was welcomed with a powerful belting announcement. **"They are divided friends, yet powerful foes!" **A complicate web of crisscrossing lines slashed through the darkness. The abysmal screen was met with an enmeshing array, arranged in colors of black, red, green, and yellow. Headshots of unfamiliar faces with glaring eyes and dour demeanors were raveled inside the mismatching unconventionally made assortment from the intersecting lines on both diagonal and perpendicular angles.

"Is this a new game?"

"What's with the advertisement inside the game though, dude?"

"These are the characters then?"

"Wait! There's that old guy who kicked our asses!"

The "players involved" immediately were charged with a two dimensional electric crackle. The voltage was blindingly jagged, cleanly swiping away the "character select" to a shadowy venue at the commanding call of the hot-blooded announcer.** "The desperate fighting program amongst the saviors of the world! A new legend is about to start!"**

A bellowing crowd caterwauling with vibrant energy erupted around as spotlights shined their high-powered lights on a closing box. Stage pyrotechnics brought further light to the lair with their chemical acceleration. The dazzling sparks petered away in their luminescent distinctive fizzling separation bringing the crowd's attention to the emblazoned, bolded, flamingly flourished "P-1 Grand Prix on the box. The four-sided cube fell in demand, the crackling smash of the second salvo of pyrotechnics signaling so. The four post ring, not unlike a wrestling ring was a prominent robust white canvas leading to an enormous walk-in stage with striking lights and speakers at the border to emphasis the presence of those who entered from the accumulated, almost acrid haze.

A silhouetted man, cloaked in a chiffon robe was a dim speaker, different from the announcer, in the ring itself. He was calling to the extending stage, to the foggy curtain, the jeering people wanting to see the cast of the spectacular bloodbath. Thus the shaded specter, gaunt and shabbily dressed, spoke in ominous tone with intimations of experience.

"May the selves effused with demonic cruelty and whimpering with divine love dawn their different masks!"

One by one the cast unfolded, seeping directly through the curtained smoke, energized and bounding towards action. The announcer's baritone returned tenfold in excitement at the shuddering anticipation, introducing the fighters as they breached the ropes.

The teenagers were speechless as they witnessed the old man that had previously walloped them slide into the battle arena armed with a katana and sub machinegun.

**"The Promise-Breaking Nameless Everyman, Naoya Todo!"**

"There are no words to describe my capabilities."

"**The Hatchet Job Loudmouth, Masao Inaba!"**

** "**I'm coming at ya, we're gonna dance crazy!"

** "The Prodigious Pundit Progeny, Kei Nanjo!"**

** "**Hmph, you lot are nothing more than monkeys before my superior intellect!"

** "The Melancholy Healing Therapist, Maki Sonomura!"**

** "**Please, forfeit. I do not wish to harm you unnecessarily."

** "The Vapid Jejune Primadonna, Yuka Ayase!"**

** "**Like, just roll over and die."

** "The Sham Gagster Entertainer, Hidehiko Uesugi!"**

** "**This M.C. is the best that ever was!"

** "The Smitten Pin-Up Gothic Romantic, Eriko Kirishima!"**

** "**I shall elegantly slay you!"

** "The Cold-Blooded Dead-Eye Shutterbug, Yukino Mayazumi!"**

** "**What the fuck you say to me?!"

** "The Impudent Scar-Faced Blue Collar, Reiji Kido!"**

** "**You bastards better get out of my way!"

"**The Guileless Sacrificial Miko, Maya Amano!"**

** "**I don't need to think positive to whoop your ass!"

"**The Jealous Inferior Palooka, Ulala Serizawa!**"

"Want a piece of me?!"

"**The Stringent Polarizing Gumshoe, Katsuya Suou!**"

"You are under arrest!"

"**The Bereaved Avenging Headhunter, Saga Kaoru!**"

"You can't escape me."

"**The Tragic Paradox Child, Tatsuya Suou!**"

"Why am I fighting _you_?"

"**The Imperious Queen of Executions, Mitsuru Kirijo!**"

"Fall at my feet!"

"**The Two-Fisted Protein Junkie, Akihiko Sanada!**"

"Heh, this'll be a lousy workout."

"**The Unsightly Pink Sniper, Yukari Takeba!**"

"For _his _sake, I will rid you from the world!"

"**The Mighty Strike-Out Slugger, Junpei Iori!**"

"Wow! The crowd's riled for a big stakes game!"

"**The Persecuted Meek Techie, Fuuka Yamagishi!**"

"I-I-I'll do my very best to help win."

"**The Heartless Armed Angel, Aigis!**"

"Acquiring target—elimination imminent."

"**The Pretentious Tenderfoot Duo, Ken Amada and Koromaru the Shiba!**"

"You should know better than to mess with us!"

"**The Sister Complex Kingpin of Steel, Yu Narukami!"**

"It's only natural."

"**The** **Captain Ressentiment, Yosuke Hanamura!**"

"Everything that bores me has gotta go!"

"**The Carnivore Who's Discarded Womanhood, Chie Satonaka!"**

** "**You need to eat more meat!"

"**The Unconquerable Snow Black, Yukiko Amagi!**"

"I'll finish you in one strike!"

"**The Bloodcurdling Beefcake Emperor, Kanji Tatsumi!"**

"Deep in the realms of romance—"

**"The Scandalous Superstar Idol, Rise Kujikawa!"**

** "**Watch me show off my 'skills'!"

"**The Beast in Heat, Teddie!**"

"Bear-iffic!"

"**The 2000 IQ Killjoy Detective, Naoto Shirogane!**"

"Is this an army of idiots?"

The thirty contestants where a packed herd on the battle field; thirty individuals various is shapes, sizes, and personalities were presented, introduced, accounted for, and prepared to participate in a continuous string of bouts designed to weed out the weak and promote the strongest in the center of the separated front. The dimmed cloaked was mysteriously absent, leaving the rivalries to ferment and to propagate the antagonizing and victimizing. The game was afoot and the announcer cried with sheer zeal to signal the raging beginning to the tournament beyond sight.

"**Fight and survive towards the one throne awaiting at the end! The P-1 Grand Prix where fierce fights will be fought! The battle begins today!**"

The bewildered teen's jaws were aghast apertures at the ludicrous performance emanating from the screen. Even with the fading, their astonishment was retained in their posture. When the white text, pixilated but readable, arrived they declared themselves officially through with the arcade cabinet.

Invitation for: **Naoya Todo, the Promise-Breaking Nameless Everyman**!

Your presence is expected.

"What the fuck?"

**Shin Megami Tensei Persona: The Ultimate in Monad Arena**

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><p><strong>AN: Blazblue Continuum Shift Extend was released in arcades during 2012. During February I believe. No particular reason I chose BlazBlue other than the obvious reasoning of Arc Rise Systems being the developers of the Arena games. Naoya is using Ragna, because Ragna is the main character. Naoya is the original Persona main character so I think you can grasp the connection there. **

So, yeah, the basis for the "opening" was used essentially to allow me to write the characters in some for or another, though they are intended to be the Shadows words not exactly the actual characters voices. It is not always accurate. The same thing goes for the nicknames, like some are not even really extreme exaggerations of the character's traits and others aren't even insultive as they are intended to be. Yes, I myself came up with all the other nicknames; you know the P1 and P2 characters, and Fuuka.

For P1, only Naoya's and Yukino's are related to MY novelization, the others fit more with their genuine characters. As for their voices, they are some what accurate, but also incorrect. The inaccuracies are because they are meant to be the voices resembling the characters with their idiosyncrasies overly embellished which is why Kei refers to his "friends" as monkeys when his character when he's older wouldn't do that. The P2 characters' nicknames are more story-related to Eternal Punishment and Innocent Sin. They won't even make much sense to you unless you actually played the games themselves. Like Headhunter is a double entendre but you wouldn't understand why unless you saw the epilogue of Eternal Punishment where Baofu becomes a Man searcher. Hence he is hunting people down like a bounty hunter would with wanted posters, that is why the term headhunter. Fuuka's name is easy and I think the most honest of all the names, mainly because Fuuka herself is quite honest and pretty much innocuous. I like Fuuka. *Crickets chirping* Not much else to say about the nicknames.

You may have noticed Rise and Teddie were added to the announcer's roster and instead of General Teddie we have this cloaked individual. Well, he's not a lich, and with the line he spoke you may know who he actually is. The reasons for these changes is because this is the Real Persona Arena where ALL Persona characters are involved, so the Labrys' TV World dungeon is a nonentity and General Teddie in all his bullshitness is persona non grata. Labrys won't be making an appearance, neither will Sho "This character is dire ass" Minazuki, and of course let's not forgot to say the underdeveloped stand-in for the TRUE Malevolent Entity "Hinokagutsuchi" will never be on the premises.

The thing is I actually like the concept of the god Kagutsuchi appearing to take revenge on the P4 crew for, you know, killing his MOTHER, but that isn't his role in Ultimax. He's not evening eluded to be the SON of Izanami. He was just born from the fog, and for some reason needs Shadows to make a vessel for his power even though he can just hand out his power at will, while also apparently broadcasting it because he is able to bring in the moronic amalgamation of the Dark Hour and the TV World fog into reality without any hindrances or strain. Oh, he also needs to possess Sho as well to properly do it, because just masquerading as General Teddie who is efficiently capable of fighting and movement as well as creating Shadow Selves, and becoming Shadow Selves, is not enough for him to do exactly what he wants. His motivations suck too. Revenge would have been better yet still cliche, instead we got uber cliche DESTROY THE WORLD and BECOME THE MOST POWERFUL without ANY development on Kagutsuchi's part. We learn everything about him when he first and only appears, and even then all we learn is jack shit.

Yeah, needless to say most of things that make P4 Arena & Ultimax the Arena games won't be in this story. I only kept the nomenclature because I think it is befitting of a tournament like roster. Probably won't function exactly like a tournament, it is gonna get hectic and unconventional, so I hope you are prepared. The actually coming-on of the plot may be abrupt. I kinda just want to get to the meat of the story instead of twiddling my thumbs with inserting everyone into a position beforehand. It would take way too long as well with the number of characters I'm touting. Added I need to describe the aged forms of the characters, they will probably look exactly the same as their P2 designs just older, maybe with different hairstyles. Masao and Ayase never had new designs for the P2 duology so I have made my own in my imagination so I'll be using those. They may actually debut in this story before Your Innocent Sin where they are original meant to be displayed.

Before I sign out with you guys, I'd like to say these won't be the only characters appearing in the P-1 Grand Prix. Like in the game, the promo video shows some but leaves out characters like Labrys and Elizabeth. The Velvet Trio will make appearances as fighters. Theo is the third of course, because for some reason Q denotes his existence in the Male Route as canon so he'll be there. Won't spoil who else unfortunately. The secret ones are all I have to shock you in any unforeseen plans.

If you guys are interested, how bout you come up with nicknames for the characters without. I think mine are pretty okay some are a lot better than others. I'm interested to see what other people would have done. If I find some that I deem awesomely exact, I'll mention them in the opening author notes with poster's name of course. Whenever the hell the next chapters are. Life really can kill your fun sometimes.


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